Iguro Obanai stood paralyzed in the mud, his mind a void of white noise. He watched Tendo's blood-streaked body fly backward through the air, and for a moment, his heart simply stopped beating.
Why? The thought screamed in his mind. Why did he save me? I am a sinner! I am meant to be the meal!
"No!" Obanai roared, his small fists slamming into the earth. The guilt felt heavier than any blow from a demon.
The attacker emerged from the gloom—an emaciated creature hunched low, covered in shimmering blue fish scales that opened and closed with a wet, rhythmic clicking, like gills breathing in the storm.
"Hehehe!" the fish demon croaked, its eyes wide with a manic light. "Rare blood... a catch like this in the middle of a storm? I am truly blessed!"
The creature greedily licked Tendo's blood from its jagged claws, its focus entirely fixed on the boy lying in the dirt. It began to creep forward, its every cell thrumming with the anticipation of the feast.
Suddenly, a shadow fell across the demon's path. Obanai had scrambled to his feet, throwing his thin arms wide to shield Tendo.
"Monster!" Obanai's voice shook, but his eyes were hard. "If you want to eat, eat me first!"
The fish demon sneered. Compared to the radiant, intoxicating scent of Tendo's blood, Obanai was like dry, bitter bark. "Get out of the way, little scrap. Don't spoil the main course!"
It lashed out with a casual, murderous swipe. But instead of Obanai's head flying off, a different sound echoed through the rain: the wet squelch of severing flesh. The fish demon's own forearm spun into the mud.
"I can play the ambush game too, you dried-up sardine."
Tendo's hand dropped onto Obanai's shoulder. He was standing perfectly upright, mocking the creature with a lazy, razor-sharp grin. Both the demon and Obanai stared at him in total shock.
"You're... you're not dead?" Obanai stammered.
"Oh, please," Tendo laughed, patting the boy's shoulder. "It's just a bit of blood. I'm not that easy to kill. Don't make such a fuss!"
He moved with a speed that defied the mud, pulling Obanai back several meters in a single fluid motion. The fish demon hissed, its gills flaring. Is this brat even human?
"Tch! Eating you alive will just make the blood sweeter!" the demon growled. It pressed its chest into the muck, its body undulating like a serpent in water. It lunged, a blue blur of speed.
Tendo's hand closed around his hilt. He didn't just draw; he exhaled, his lungs expanding in a rhythmic, controlled surge. Crimson-gold electric arcs erupted from his legs, dancing across his skin like caged lightning.
Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash.
Crr-ack!
A deafening thunderclap drowned out the roar of the rain. To Obanai, it looked as if a crimson-gold meteor had torn through the sky. One moment the demon was there; the next, its head was spinning into the darkness, its body collapsing into the mud as a scorched heap.
Tendo twirled his blade with a practiced flick before sheathing it with a crisp clack. He looked at the speechless Obanai and extended a hand.
"Obanai, do you want to be strong enough to protect what matters? Come with me. Join the Demon Slayer Corps." Tendo's voice was deep, carrying an irresistible, almost magnetic conviction. "We're the ones who hunt these nightmares. Come save the world with me, young man!"
Obanai looked at the hand, then at the boy who seemed to glow with a faint golden aura in the grey rain. "Can... can I really?"
Tendo didn't wait for the doubt to settle. He grabbed Obanai's hand, a bright smile breaking across his face. "Thanks for joining! Welcome to the team!"
"Wait, I didn't—"
"Actually, that was a bit chuunibyou, wasn't it? I'm cringing at myself," Tendo muttered under his breath, leaving Obanai looking utterly bewildered.
Suddenly, two massive arms scooped both boys up from behind. Rengoku Shinjuro's boisterous laughter boomed in their ears, making their heads throb.
"Tendo! Not bad at all! I didn't expect a second one to be lurking here. How thrilling!"
Tendo squinted at the Flame Pillar. "Uncle... you were watching from the side, weren't you?"
"Ah... hahaha! Preposterous!" Shinjuro's eyes darted away guiltily. He had only just returned, but seeing Tendo's form, he'd decided a bit of field experience was the best teacher.
Shinjuro's expression then softened into one of genuine regret as he looked at Obanai. "I am truly sorry, child. By the time I cleared the estate, your family had already been... decimated. Only one remains."
Obanai's heart remained like a frozen lake. He knew his family. They were devils in silk robes, sacrificing their own blood for gold. Their end was a long-overdue debt.
"I brought out the surviving girl," Shinjuro said, gesturing toward the trees. "She says she's your cousin."
A young girl stood there, clutching an umbrella, her face pale with terror. But as her eyes landed on Obanai, the fear turned into a sharp, poisonous hatred.
"Obanai! Why did you run away?" she shrieked, her voice cracking. "Why couldn't you just die obediently? Everyone is dead because of you! As a sacrifice, you should have let yourself be eaten! Why are you still alive while they are all gone?!"
The illogical venom of her words hung in the air, heavier than the rain. Obanai stood silent, the old familiar weight of sin beginning to pull at his shoulders again. He had dared to survive, and for that, he was being condemned.
Smack!
The sound of the slap was sharper than the thunder.
The girl's head snapped to the side. She stared, wide-eyed and trembling, as Tendo slowly withdrew his hand.
"I don't usually hit women," Tendo said, his voice as cold as the ice on the mountainside. "But don't you dare keep babbling that filth. Why should he be eaten? What obligation does he have to die for a family of parasites?"
He stepped closer, his golden eyes boring into hers. "Your family's death was exactly what they deserved for what they did to him. Go find somewhere else to live. Go back to that house—there's probably still blood-money hidden in the floorboards if you want it that badly."
The girl collapsed to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. The truth had finally pierced through her hysterics.
Tendo turned away from her, his expression clearing instantly. He flashed a brilliant, cheerful smile at Shinjuro and Obanai.
"Uncle, Obanai—let's go! I'm starving to death!"
Just as they turned to leave, the heavy grey ceiling of the sky finally tore open. A single, warm ray of sunlight pierced through the dark clouds, falling directly upon Iguro Obanai, washing away the shadows of Hachijo Island.